So yeah...bat bite... starting rabies treatment later today. Any of you been through it? I gotta admit I'm a little (ok a lot) scared about it, and could use some reassurance as to my chances and what the treatment is like...

My wife works as a vet tech and she had to get vaccinated against rabies. Your chances are good and you will be fine. The shots do hurt though and make your pretty nauseous. Just have someone take you to get them and then prepare to feel nauseous shortly afterward. My wife likened it to having food poison. Your best bet is to lay down in a dark room and try to go to sleep.

Frank Delicious wrote:Did you catch the bat and have it sent off for testing?

No, that didn't even cross my mind until today. I THINK it's out of the house (I opened a couple windows, grabbed my cat and spent the night elsewhere). If it's still in there, I'm going to be sure to do that, but since I'm heading to the hospital after work to get started on the vaccination, the results of that test would be rather redundant...

I'm a bit too freaked out to just sit and wait for test results, too...All the info I've been reading say the incubation time for rabies can be as short as a few days. With a disease with 100% mortality once symptoms start showing, I really don't want to press my luck.

Are you sure the bat is what bit you? That's pretty rare. Bats with rabies are pretty rare too. I've had bats in my house before and never been bitten, even after catching them and carrying them other places. I understand why you'd be worried though. Better safe than sorry. I have a friend who was bitten by a stray cat. He couldn't find the cat later so he decided to get the shots just to be sure.

Bats are good to have around though. They eat tons of bugs. We get bats circling above our driveway every night. I have a bat house, but none have moved in yet.

holy crap. dude. I feel for you. Those shots sound like a real ass-whuppin'.

WTF was a bat doing biting you? Even if it was a vampire bat, they don't normally go for humans. Man. I think your cat needs to take those shots with you for not looking out for you. I mean, flapping around and the cat doesn't want to catch it?

Last year west nile killed off a large chunk of the bird population where I live, so this year the bats have less competition for their food source...They have thus been thriving like you wouldn't believe.

When I called the health department to ask about whether I should go in, and where to go in, they said they've had a massive deluge of bat bites this year because of it.

In normal quantities, I'm quite fond of bats for the very reason that they LOVE to eat mosquitos...

The only other animal that could leave an 1/8" wide bite mark on my leg would've been my cat, and whenever he's bitten or scratched me while we were wrasslin', the wound hasn't gotten red/purple splotchy and swollen like this wound has...So, it's possible it was my cat, but I've had so many wounds from him before (his favorite game is "Shred the human's arm" - it's adorable!) that I would've seen this sort of reaction previously. To me, that says the logical conclusion is that the bat is what bit me, I guess...

black udder wrote:WTF was a bat doing biting you? Even if it was a vampire bat, they don't normally go for humans. Man. I think your cat needs to take those shots with you for not looking out for you. I mean, flapping around and the cat doesn't want to catch it?

No idea why I got bit...maybe he huddled up for warmth and I rolled over onto him. I keep the a/c pretty cold in my bedroom.

As for my cat...he's VICIOUS when we playfight, but he's a neutered, totally indoor cat, so he doesn't understand territoriality or killing. I think the biggest thing he's killed is a spider...When he sees something strange he just looks at it and makes little chirpy mewing noises.

I had to have rabies shots about 20 years ago. I was riding my bike and when I stopped for a stop sign I felt a pain in the side of my leg. When i looked down, I saw a little dog with his teeth in my calf. I kicked it and it ran off. Long story short, got the rabies shots to be safe (people in the ghetto usually don't vacinate their dogs, said the animal control guy). I was scared because of all the horror stories everyone told me. Nothing too bad really. I got a shot in each of the three tooth holes, and one in each hip/upper buttock area. Then I got to chill for about an hour to make sure I didn't have a reaction. Then there was a follow up shot in a couple of weeks, then another couple weeks later. This was a long time ago and it wasn't that bad at all, who knows, now it could be even less of a hassle. It really isn't that bad at all and it's better to be safe than sorry!Hope this helps.

"Are you talking to me on a cellular phone? I don't know you. Who is this? Don't come here! Prank caller! Prank caller!"

With all due respect, most women tend to overplay things that their husbands haven't experienced themselves(i.e. pregnancy is always a safe bet). They milk it for all its worth. Its in their handbook of evilness to prey on our ignorance. be aware.